Introduction
The Book of the Dead is a mechanic unique to the necromancer that is available from the start of the game; it allows you to summon skeletons and golems to help with combat. Summons may also grant you stat bonuses in exchange for not being able to summon them.
TLDR/Summary
- Book of the Dead is available from the start of the game
- There must be a corpse to summon skeletal units
- A quest is given to you at level 25 which unlocks the Golem summon
- More than 1 type of summon can be active
- Summons can be sacrificed to provide self buffs such as Vulnerability and Critical Strike Chance
Book of the Dead
Currently, as of Open Beta there are 3 types of summons currently available for the necromancer Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages and Golems. Mages and Warriors have 3 sub-classes/categories that provide different effects when summoned or sacrificed. Skeletal summons require a corpse to resummon while Golem automatically respawn after 20 seconds if killed.
Skeletal Warriors
Skirmishers - Sword-wielding skeletal minions that deal 30% increased damage but have 15% reduced Life.
| Upgrade 1 | You can raise one additional Skirmisher Warrior. |
| Upgrade 2 | Each time you Critically Strike, your Skirmisher Warriors next attack Critically Strikes and deals 50% bonus Critical Strike Damage. Can only happen every 3 seconds. |
| Sacrifice | Your critical strike chance is increased by 5%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors |
Defenders - Durable shield-bearers with 15% increased Life.
| Upgrade 1 | Every 8 seconds your defenders negate the next instance of direct damage they would take. |
| Upgrade 2 | Increase the amount of thorns that Defenders inherit from you from 30% to 50%. |
| Sacrifice | You gain 15% non-physical resistance, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors |
Reapers - Wields a powerful scythe that has a special wind-up attack, dealing heavy damage every 10 seconds.
| Upgrade 1 | Reaper attacks against who are Immobilized, Slowed, Stunned, or Vulnerable reduce the cooldown of their wind-up attack by 2 seconds. |
| Upgrade 2 | Reapers have a 15% chance to carve flesh off enemies, forming a corpse |
| Sacrifice | You deal 10% increased Shadow Damage but you can no longer raise Skeletal Warriors. |
Skeletal Mages
Shadow - Shadow Mages wield power from the beyond dealing moderate Shadow damage.
| Upgrade 1 | Shadow Mages attacks have a 10% chance to Stun for 2 seconds. This cannot happen on the same enemy more than once every 5 seconds. |
| Upgrade 2 | Shadow Mages fire an additional attack every 6th basic attack |
| Sacrifice | Your maximum Essence us increased by 15, but you can no longer summon Skeletal Mages |
Cold - Cold Mages attacks will chill enemies eventually freezing them in their tracks.
| Upgrade 1 | Each time your Cold Mages damage enemies with their primary attack, you gain 2 essence. |
| Upgrade 2 | Enemies who are Frozen or damaged while Frozen by your Cold Mages primary attack are made Vulnerable for 3 seconds. |
| Sacrifice | You deal 15% increased damage to Vulnerable enemies, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages. |
Bone - Bone Mages use their own bodies as projectiles, dealing heavy damage at the cost of their own Life.
| Upgrade 1 | Reduces the Life Cost of your Bone Mages attacks from 15% to 10%. After being alive for 5 seconds Bone Mages deal 40% increased damage. |
| Upgrade 2 | Each time a Bone Mage dies from its own attack, they leave behind a corpse and fortify you for 11% of your Base Life |
| Sacrifice | Your Overpower damage is increased by 30%, but you can no longer raise Skeletal Mages. |
Golem
Bone - A horrid protector that taunts enemies, forcing them to attack the Golem.
| Upgrade 1 | Each time your Golem takes up to 20% of its Maximum Life as damage, it sheds a Corpse. |
| Upgrade 2 | Your Bone Golem gains 10% maximum Life and the amount of Thorns they inherit from you is increased from 30% to 50%. |
| Sacrifice | You gain 10% increased attack speed, but you lose the ability to summon a Golem. |
